Dallas Fuel vs Toronto Defiant

The Kickoff Clash tournament has started off in the absolute best possible way: with a five-map barnburner that has left our jaws on the floor! The onus, now, is on Dallas and Toronto to perform and to entertain the audience -- and the thousands watching -- in equal measure. Will they be up to the task? One can never be too certain, but they *do* have a shot.

In any case, this is undoubtedly one of the more alluring match-ups of the day, so if you have the time, definitely make sure to tune in! The gap between them, at least tally- and map-wise, is by no means insurmountable. Dallas have been a fair bit more consistent, but that has only resulted in a slightly more impressive record: 5W-1L to Toronto's 4W-2L. They are the better team, too, but by no means should the Defiant be underestimated. They're much more dangerous than we had expected coming into the 2022 edition of the Overwatch League although, in all fairness, they're far from a top-tier behemoth.

And you really start to realize that once you look at whom they faced thus far: other than a solid win over the Houston Outlaws they haven't accomplished much. Styling over the Paris Eternal, Boston Uprising, and the New York Excelsior isn't worth much these days -- almost everyone's doing it, after all. We've seen great potential with their players but they're not yet ready to compete on even footing with the Fuels and Shocks and Gladiators of the world. And, well, there's no shame in that for as long as they can maintain their current position in the standings. Eventually, in time, they *could* grow out into a dangerous gatekeeper, but right now, as things stand, they'll almost surely get smacked around by Dallas and eventually lose in swift, 3-0 fashion.